Dec 17 Health Reform Watch: After Verdict, Experts Consider the Individual Mandate After Verdict, Experts Consider the Individual Mandate Health reform challenges in court this week have revived a longstanding debate -- in order to work, does the law need to include the "individual mandate" that requires all Americans to buy insurance?… Continue reading
Dec 16 In Florida, Health Care Reform Once Again Before A Judge Updated 5:30 p.m. Attorneys for the federal government and for 20 states made their cases about the constitutionality of the health care reform law in three hours of arguments before U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson Thursday. David Rivkin, an… Continue reading
Dec 13 Virginia Judge Rules Major Health Reform Provision Unconstitutional Updated 4:02 p.m. Federal judge Henry Hudson ruled Monday afternoon that a major provision of the health care reform law is unconstitutional, setting up a legal battle that will likely end at the Supreme Court. In his decision, the… Continue reading
Dec 10 Health Reform Watch: Congress Passes ‘Doc Fix,’ Revisiting McAllen Congress gave Medicare doctors a one-year reprieve from a looming pay cut this week. On Thursday, legislators passed a bill that will stave off a 25 percent cut in the Medicare reimbursement rate, which they paid for by shifting… Continue reading
Dec 09 Congress Patches Payment Gap for Medicare Doctors Congress once again headed off a pay cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients by stopping a 25 percent decrease in the amount the federal government pays them to take care of seniors. The cut was scheduled to take effect… Continue reading
Dec 06 Employers Paying More, Workers Getting Less for Health Insurance The price businesses pay for their workers' health insurance has ballooned more than 41 percent over the past six years, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund. At the same time, many workers are getting less for… Continue reading
Dec 03 Health Reform Watch: Health Care Helps Bring Down Deficit Plan; Judge Rules for Reform in Virginia Citing Health Care, Republicans Say No to Deficit Plan President Obama's bipartisan Deficit Commission failed to get the 14 votes necessary to send its deficit reduction plan to a full vote in Congress. The plan made major cuts in… Continue reading
Nov 30 Health Reform Watch: No-Go for 1099 Repeal, Medicare Docs Sidestep Pay Cut We're starting something new at Rx for Reform. Each week, we'll update you on the latest health reform and health policy news happening in Washington, in statehouses, in courthouses and in the health care business. Here's a look at… Continue reading
Nov 22 Under New Rules, Insurers Will Spend More on Patient Care Beginning next year, health insurers will have to follow a new set of rules that details how much money they must spend on patients' medical care, according to guidelines the Obama administration released Monday. The rules are part of… Continue reading
Nov 17 Medicare Chief Defends Health Reform in Senate Grilling After months of waiting, Senate Republicans who had objected to Donald Berwick's appointment as Medicare chief got their first chance to question the new agency head Wednesday. Berwick defended the health care reform law, telling members of the Senate Finance… Continue reading